Detachable and reversible french cuff

ABSTRACT

A PREFABRICATED SELF-CONTAINED LAUNDERABLE CUFF PREFERABLY BUT NOT NECESSARILY, A REVERSIBLE FRENCH CUFF, IS DETACHABLY CONNECTIBLE AT WILL TO A FABRIC OR EQUIVALENT ADAPTER STRIP. THIS STRIP IS EQUIPPED WITH SNAP-FASTENERS TO WHICH COMPANION SNAP-FASTENERS ON THE CUFF ARE COOPERATIVELY CONNECTIBLE. A PORTION OF THE CUFF PROTRUDES BEYOND THE COAT SLEEVE AND GIVES THE IMPRESSION THAT A WEARER OF A SHORT SLEEVE SHIRT IS ACTUALLY WEARING A LONG SLEEVE SHIRT.

Jan. 19, 1971 C. W. HUMPHREY DETACHABLE AND REVERSIBLE FRENCH CUFF FiledSept. 17, 1968 Figr.l2`

Char/es W. Humphrey IN l/Iz'N'I'OK.

ana/WW Hmm =United States Patent C 3,555,563 DETACHABLE AND REVERSIBLEFRENCH CUFF Charles W. Humphrey, P.0. Box 121, Boca Raton, Fla. 33432Filed Sept. 17, 1968, Ser. No. 760,153

Int. Cl. A41b 7/04 U-S. Cl. 2-124 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREThis invention relates to a new and improved makeshift shirt cuff whencan be readily attached to a coat sleeve whenever necessary or desiredand which is held in place by hidden adapter means provided therefor onthe interior of the outer free end portion of the coat sleeve.

Mens short sleeve shirts have `met with widespread adoption and use andare popularly and acceptably worn, particularly during the summerseason. However, this practice poses a problem lwhen the wearer, forwhatever reason, dons his suit or equivalent coat and encounters theobjectionably culess and bare-wrist as well as unkempt appearance.Although others working in this field of endeavor have recognized theproblem and have sought to cope with it in one manner or another, it isan object in the instant matter to offer an improved and an advancedadaptation which, it is believed, better solves the desired groomingproblem and the purposes for which it has been ideally perfected.

Briefly the concept comprehends two primary components, namely, arelatively narrow elongated fabric or an equivalent strip which whenproperly applied serves as an adapter, and a readily attachable anddetachable prefabricated sleeve adorning cuff. The adapter strip isstitched, adhesively or otherwise attached fiatwise to the lining orinterior surface of the coat sleeve and is parallel with and proximal tothe free edge of the coat sleeve and is hidden from View. It is providedon an accessible surface with fastening means, for example, suitablefemale snap fasteners. These snap fasteners serve to accommodatecoordinating male snap fasteners which are provided on the insertableand removable cuff. The cuff is preferably but not necessarily a Frenchcuff made of launderable shirt material. The attaching and retainingsnap fasteners are positioned in a row midway between the upper freelengthwise edges of the folds of the cuff and the folding creaseconstituting the lower lengthwise edge of the cuff.

In carrying out the principles of the invention the cuff as above statedis reversible and can therefore be turned inside out and accordingly therequired surfaces of the folds are provided with rows of properlyarranged snap fasteners so that the latter snap fasteners are inreadiness for connection with the snap fasteners on the adapter strip ina manner and for the purposes desired. Then, too, the separable andconnectible lengthwise free edges of the folds are joined by anappropriate arrangement of snap fasteners so that the over-all cuff canbe handled as a readily insertable and detachable unit.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accomrice panying drawings forming a part hereof,wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. l is a view in side elevation showing the left coat sleeve, theenclosed short sleeve and portions of the arm in phantom lines andillustrating the detachable and reversible French cuff and the manner inwhich it is attached and used.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged View showing the lower open end of the coatsleeve, the adapter strip in section and the insertable and removablemakeshift or temporary cuif and how it is constructed and detachablymounted for use within the confines of the coat sleeve and with asignificantly viewable portion projecting beyond the free end of thesleeve.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the aforementionedadapter strip and prefabricated ready-touse cuff with a corner portionof one fold bent down to illustrate how the corner connecting fastenersare arranged for cooperation.

And FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional and elevational view thepurpose of `which is to show how certain of the male and female snapfasteners are constructed and arranged for feasible use taken on theplane of the section line 4--4 of FIG. 2.

By way of introduction to the description it is to be pointed out thatthe invention has to do with a specially constructed cuff (detailed inFIG. 3) and the adapter band or strip and the combination of these twocomponent parts with a coat sleeve in the general manner shown in FIGS.1 and 2.

With reference first to FIG. 1 it will be seen that the numeral 6designates, generally speaking, a short sleeve shirt one sleeve (say theleft sleeve) of which is denoted in phantom lines at 8 and is confinedin the upper portion 10 of the sleeve 12 on the coat 14. As suggested,the purpose of FIG. 1 is to illustrate the need for the presentinvention and how the desired and improved result is attained.

With reference now to FIG. 3 in particular, the prefabricated attachableand detachable cuff is denoted by the numeral 16 and the adapter meansby the numeral 18. The adapter means is of utmost simplicity and will bereferred to rst. It comprises a. relatively narrow band or strip offabric, plastic or equivalent material of suitable length that it iscapable of being mounted within the confines of the portion 20 (FIG. 2)of the coat sleeve. It should be proportional to the cross-sectionaldimension of the sleeve and such in dimension that it can be mounted inapproximate parallel relationship with the free open end portion 22 ofthe sleeve. This adapter strip has an outward surface 24 and an inwardsurface 26. The outward surface could be coated with adhesive media forready attachment and retention. On the other hand it can be stitched inplace as illustrated at 28 in FIG. 2. The inward or interior surface 26is provided with a row of snap fasteners. In fact this row of fastenerscomprises several female snap yfasteners the median one of which isdenoted at 30 and the end ones at 32. They are positioned and so relatedwith respect to the edges and surfaces of the band to accommodate theseveral snap fasteners 30A and 32A carried by the outwardly located fold34 of the cuff 16. Auxiliary snap fasteners, also arranged in a row, aredenoted at 36 and come into play when the folds 34 and 3S are turnedinside out to achieve the reversible cuff effect. It is preferred thatthe cuff should be a French cuff as shown to advantage in FIG. 3. Thefolding crease which adjoins the two folds 34 and 35 is denoted at 38.The upper lengthwise free edges are denoted at 40 and the cornerportions conveniently differentiated by the numerals 42. It is desirablehere to provide coacting snap fasteners such as at 44 and 46, thesebeing arranged so that the edges 40 and corner portions 42 can besnapped together to render the over-all cuff intact so that it can bereadily inserted and removed as a unit.

The manner in which the adapter strip 18 is applied and utilized isshown in FIG. 2. This figure also shows the manner in which the cuff 16is inserted and attached so that the projecting or protruding portionthereof extends beyond the edge 22 to achieve the finished effectillustrated in FIG. 1. It will be evident that when the adapter strip 18is stitched or otherwise applied on the interior of the coat sleeve,that is the surface 20 (FIG. 2) it is so related to the end or edge 22that it is virtually hidden and yet the snap fasteners or equivalentfasteners 30 and 32 are accessible to accommodate the companion orcomplemental snap fasteners 30A and 32A when the cuff 16 is readied foruse. As to the cuff itself it is preferably a French cuff and yet it iswithin the purview of the invention to utilize a so-called barrel cuff(not shown) if such an approach to the solution of the problem isdecided upon.

It is believed that the essence of the primary features or components 16and 18 is evident from FIG. 3. Because of the fact that French cuffs areusually made of several laminations or plies of material the enlargedsectional view in FIG. 4 is self explanatory. Manifestly, the male andfemale snap fasteners can be reversed and used in some otherrelationship than illustrated. To the ends desired the folds 34 and 35should be provided with `accessible snap fasteners whether the cuff isreversed or i not. The arrangement in FIG. 3 is thought to be sufficientto show the essence of the invention and it was deemed not necessary toillustrate the folds 34 and 35 turned inside out and reversed.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. For use in the free open outward end portion of a coat sleeve, a cuffpositioning and mounting adapter comprising an elongated relativelynarrow fiexible strip member having an outward side adapted to besuperimposed upon and secured flatwise to the usual lining of said coatsleeve and an inward side provided with a rst row of alignedlongitudinally spaced snap-fasteners; a Self-contained bodily attachableand detachable French cuff of a size and shape capable of optional usewithin the confines of the outer terminal end portion of said coatsleeve in a manner that a viewpoint portion of the cuff can be caused toproject outwardly beyond said open outward end a significantlynoticeable distance, said cuff being made of launderable shirt materialand embodying like elongated inner and outer overlapping folds having apair of like longitudinal edges integrally joined by a cuff-foldingcrease and also having a pair of free longitudinal edges separablyconnected by quick-separable fastening means permitting said folds to bereversed and said cuff to be turned inside-out whenever necessary ordesired, a second row of longitudinally spaced snapfasteners mounted ona median exterior surface of said outer fold and registered with andseparably connected with coacting snap-fasteners in said first row ofsnap fasteners, and a third row of longitudinally spaced snap fastenersoperatively mounted on a median outwardly yfacing side of said innerfold and adapted to be separable but retentively connected with coactingones of the snap-fasteners of said first row of snap-fasteners at suchtime as the user desires to reverse said inner and outer folds and thusturn the cuff inside-out.

2. The adapter and cuff defined in and accordingto claim 1 and whereinsaid quick-separable fastening means comprises oriented and coordinatingsnap-fasteners `which are cooperatively mounted on both confrontingmatchable sides of said inner and outer folds and are auxiliary to theseveral aforementioned rows of snap-fasteners.

3. In combination, a suit coat sleeve having the usual free outward openend, a French cuff positioning and mounting adapter comprising arelatively narrow iiexible strip member having an outward suifacesuperimposed upon and secured flatwise to the lining of said coatsleeve, and strip member being spaced a pre-determined distance from andassuming a position parallel with the adjacent free edge of said outwardopen end, said strip member having an inward surface whose medianlengthwise portion is provided with a first row of longitudinally spacedcuff attaching snap-fasteners; an optionally usable reversible-typeFrench cuff having a portion fitting within the encompassing confines ofsaid outward open end and a predetermined portion projecting a desireddistance outwardly and beyond said outward open end, said cuff beingmade of launderable shirt material embodying like elongated i-nner andouter overlapping folds having a pair of corresponding longitudinaledges integrally joined by a cuff-folding crease and also having a pairof free longitudinal edges separably connected by quick-separablefastening means permitting said folds to be reversed and said cuff toybe turned inside-out whenever necessary or desired, a second row oflongitudinally spaced snapfasteners mounted on a median exterior surfaceof said outer fold and registered with and separably connected withcoacting snap-fasteners in said first row of snap fasteners, and, athird row of longitudinally spaced snapfasteners operatively mounted ona median outwardly facing side of said inner fold and adapted to beseparably but retentively connected with coacting ones of thesnapfasteners of said first row of snap-fasteners at such time as theuser desires to reverse said inner and outer folds and thus turn thecuff inside-out.

4. The combination defined in and according to claim 3, and wherein saidquick-separable fastening means comprises oriented and coordinatingsnap-fasteners which are cooperatively mounted on both confrontingmatchable sides of said inner and outer folds and are auxiliary to theseveral aforementioned rows of snap-fasteners.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,068,464 7/1913 Steinmetz 2--1242,105,471 l/1938 Brown 2-124 3,419,908 l/l969 Germani 2-123 FOREIGNPATENTS 108,843 10/1939 Great Britain 2-124 RICHARD I. SCANLAN, JR.,Primary Examiner

